Saving Railey Hill House - ghosts and all
By Diane Dallmeyer CHESTERFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY
"For sale or lease for a term of years that well known estate called Railey's Coal Pits, containing 103 acres of land, lying in the county of Chesterfield and state of Virginia, on the Buckingham road and at the termination of the turnpike twelve miles from the city of Richmond. This estate has long been in the occupancy of Major Harry Heth, deceased, and from its great body, and superior quality, has gained a reputation over every other coal mine of the continent."

Although now abandoned, some claim Railey Hill House is still home to ghosts, including those of a young boy and a Civil War officer.

Thus reads the classified ad from the Richmond Enquirer on Tues., July 2, 1822, and a prime piece of real estate it was!

The year 2007 brought wonderful new awareness of the uniqueness of Chesterfield's past. Begun only three years after the settling of Jamestown, our county is truly "more than a footnote in history." We've learned that Chesterfield had the first hospital, the first coalmines, the first ironworks, the first incorporated town, commercial tramway and commercially-grown tobacco.

Railey Hill House features several architectural gems, including the handturned woodwork on its staircase.

What about the homes and neighborhoods in which our early settlers lived? Railey Hill House, the homestead listed in the ad above, dates back to the 1700s when the village of Midlothian was a thriving coalmining town. If you can look quickly and closely enough, you can read the iron highway marker on Midlothian Turnpike stating that the Midlothian mines are the oldest in America. Major cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. imported bituminous coal of "excellent quality" from this small community from around 1730 until the Civil War.

Travel west on Midlothian Turnpike and turn onto Woolridge Road, and then again behind the childcare center, and if you look closely, you can't help but stumble upon Railey Hill House, a small and quaint reminder to those in the know of the way the mine superintendents lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. County records record Railey Hill House's origins as 1795. Jeffrey O'Dell, author of "Chesterfield County Early Architecture and Historic Sites," records it as circa 1840. All agree, however, that it was built to house the superintendent of the Railey Hill Pits. In 1810, Martin Railey of Albemarle appointed John Railey to transact coal pit business in Chesterfield County. In 1830, the pits were acquired by the Midlothian Coal Mining Company and by 1847, these mines formed the largest coalmining company in Virginia.

The house was built in two parts, with the second part of the "ell" being constructed most likely right before the Civil War. The house featured several distinctive architectural details. The main floor doors are unusually large with heavy Italianate casings. The Federal mantel survived until very recent vandalism in one of the parlors, and at one time a 6-foot high mirror with molded and gilt frame hung over the mantel. This mirror was believed to have been installed when the house was built.

Mining was a difficult life in the 18th-century, as it remains today. Many mine tragedies were documented in the Midlothian area and some graves of miners can be found in the Mount Pisgah cemetery.

Railey Hill House was an intimate observer to Civil War action as well, as it became "home" to a contingent of 100 Federal troops in 1865 following the fall of Richmond. General Philip H. Sheridan dispatched troops to that location for the purpose of guarding the mines. The troops camped in the yard for a month or more, and Lt. Charles F. Branch, as officer in charge, stayed in the house itself. Local legend has it that Branch made his presence known to occupants of the house well into the 20th-century.

A native of Vermont, Branch enlisted at the age of 16. He served bravely and well and recorded in his diary that his regiment entered Richmond on Apr. 3, 1865, on a "beautiful day" and "without opposition." He writes in his diary of visits to the theater and reviews of troops featuring parades with bands and battle flags. Branch's company was posted in Manchester until they arrived at Midlothian on Apr. 15.

Branch made the most of the time he was posted in Midlothian and recorded that he was enjoying his life to an "unlimited extent." Several of the higher-ranking mine officers were not native born to America, and it seems that fact perhaps led them to feel less strongly about the presence of Yankee troops in Midlothian than native residents would likely have felt. Branch socialized with several prominent families while in residence at Railey Hill, and made a special friend of Miss Bettie Jewett, although he had left a girlfriend at home in Vermont with whom he corresponded regularly!

In July of that year, Branch and his battalion left for Norfolk, apparently never to see Miss Jewett again. He didn't marry his Vermont girlfriend either, but ended up being married three times and having a son and three daughters. Branch died in Vermont, but he left a treasure behind with the etching in the parlor window: "Charles F. Branch, Lt. US Army, address Orwell, Vermont, April, 1865."

Through the years, stories of ghosts have surrounded Railey Hill House, as with many other old historic homes in Chesterfield. Some think that Branch had such an enjoyable stay while quartered there that he returned after his death, while others believe the ghost is the young son of an early supervisor of the mines. The house is vacant now, and the casual observer wouldn't guess there was so much history attached to the modest home surrounded by commercial properties.

But there are those who still love the house and have worked hard to see it preserved. As a result of the diligence of the Village of Midlothian Volunteer Coalition, the house will be kept where it is and restored. Although unable to fulfill their dream of moving the house to the site of the Midlothian Mines Park on Woolridge Road, Director Amy Satterfield and her group have worked with the owner/developer of the land under and around Railey Hill House to ensure that the buildings that will surround it are architecturally similar to Railey Hill.

"If you work hard to make your community a better place to live, it makes life richer for everyone," says Satterfield.

Indeed, the little jewel that is Railey Hill House is a source of delight and enrichment for the community of Midlothian and for Chesterfield County as a whole.